Established 2018

In August of 2008 a small Spoken Word/Poetry Open Mic event was born in a small coffee shop in Vallejo, California.

Poetry By The Bay was founded on the premise that everyone deserves to be able to share their work in a comfortable and welcoming environment and for the past 15 years has done just that.

Poetry By The Bay brings together a diverse group of artists to share their work. This positive creative outlet is free to the public. Poetry By The Bay quickly became a beacon to the artistic community spanning from San Francisco to Sacramento.  

The show grew to become a community staple where artists of all genres came and networked. After ten years, Kyrah Ayers stepped down from hosting the show that had grown to be the largest and longest running poetry shows in Solano County.

In 2018 the hosting microphone was left in the hands of the talented Jeremy Snyder who later became the Poet Laureate of the city of Vallejo. 

While the location and host has changed, the emphasis on the arts remains constant. 

Through the pandemic, the show shifted to a weekly zoom meeting where poets met virtually from the comfort and safety of their homes while still sharing their profound work with their audiences. 

Poetry By The Bay is a family. We call the longstanding supporters of the show Veterans because they've weathered many storms with us. The newcomers are referred to as Freshman and second timers as Sophomores. We love hearing new voices on the mic. The show has been known to be the place where many people shared their work live on stage for the very first time and we look forward to many more years of being able to provide this outlet to the artist community.